Air India's board of directors met on 7 May 2026 at the airline's headquarters in Gurugram, Haryana, to discuss cost-saving measures as the loss-making carrier faces mounting operational pressures stemming from the West Asia conflict. The meeting, chaired by Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, lasted over three hours and covered the airline's financials for FY2025-26, potential cost reduction steps and the search for a new chief executive officer (CEO).
Air India Group — comprising Air India and Air India Express — is projected to have incurred losses of more than Rs 22,000 crore in the financial year ended March 2026. Cost-saving measures under consideration include furloughs — whereby staff are placed on unpaid leave during periods of financial stress — and deferred payment of performance-linked bonuses, which form part of the cost to company (CTC) structure at Air India.
The airline is navigating significant headwinds from airspace restrictions and sharply higher jet fuel prices triggered by the West Asia conflict, both of which have driven operational costs up materially in recent months. This comes at a particularly challenging time for the carrier, which is in the midst of an ambitious transformation plan aimed at restoring it to profitability following its acquisition by the Tata Group.
CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson is scheduled to address a staff townhall on 8 May 2026. Wilson is set to step down later this year, with his successor yet to be named. The board includes Wilson, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong, Sanjiv Mehta, Alice Vaidyan, PR Ramesh and PB Balaji as members. |
